PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island voters will be next to decide on whether to remove “and Providence Plantations” from the state’s official name after legislation was approved by the General Assembly on Thursday night.
The joint resolution of including the question on the ballot was sponsored by Sen. Harold M. Metts, D-Providence, and Rep. Anastasia P. Williams, D-Providence.
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Metts, has fought to remove “Providence Plantations” from Rhode Island’s official name for more than a decade, saying that it had direct ties to slavery. Now, he said he is finally seeing widespread support in the wake of national protests following the death of George Floyd, a Black man, while in police custody in Minneapolis in May.
“Rhode Island built its economy on being a leader in the slave trade in colonial times. This old, festering wound still needs healing. We aren’t proud of that history, and we must stop glorifying a word that is inescapably associated with that terrible past,” said Metts, whose own family can be traced back to the Speck Plantation, which is close to Charlottesville, VA.
A similar question was placed on the ballot in 2010, but failed statewide by an overwhelmingly majority. Both Metts and Williams said they believe this time will be different, crediting increased education around diversity and sensitivity toward the connotation toward the word. While the name change previously had the support of mostly Black voters, Metts said he has seen support from many Rhode Islanders due to the racial-justice movement in the past year.
“This awakening is from people of all backgrounds,” Metts previously told the Providence Business News.
Last month, many state officials, including Gov. Gina M. Raimondo and General Treasurer Seth Magaziner, announced that their offices would wipe out the official name from all paperwork, letterheads, websites, official state checks, citations and correspondence that included it.
Williams previously told a PBN reporter that these actions “weren’t enough.” She said the state should commit to diversifying its judicial branch and developing local and state police reform task forces.
“We have genuine work ahead of us to bring about true equality and justice for all. We are collectively taking this step as an inclusive symbol to demonstrate that we are all Rhode Islanders. Period,” said Williams in a statement on Thursday night.
The ballot question would make the change official in the state’s constitution if approved by a majority of voters in November’s election.
Alexa Gagosz is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Gagosz@PBN.com.
